Review Summary: Homelessness: The Album
Homelessness is a fear that many people share. It looms over our heads everyday, the threat of losing everything. For most people, homelessness would be the end. There is little hope beyond it, and many people who become homeless remain that way, if they survive.
But not CRIM3S.
CRIM3S, formerly Story of Isaac, were left homeless for a full year after being evicted on short notice. They recorded this EP in abandoned buildings, railway tunnels, garages, anywhere they could make music. They were often chased by police, hence their name change to CRIM3S. The duo attracted significant attention by organising illegal underground raves throughout London, even gaining the attention of Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles fame. Their homeless situation, rather than signalling the end of the road for them, was the beginning. They thrived in an incredibly harsh environment, and created some of the best witch-house music to date.
This EP is abrasive, cold and unfriendly. The shrieking vocals, the icy electronics, the muddy drums sequencers, everything about this feels jagged and uncomfortable. Whilst short, it is a stomach-churning experience, with the best way of describing it as the literal sound of having nothing, being completely desolate. Out of the 5 tracks, “Salt” and “Holes” are the most compelling, the former having one of the catchiest synth hooks throughout, and the latter having some of the coldest synth hooks, with some of the more agonising vocals during the EP's length. As a whole, the EP is one of the roughest rides in the best possible way, leaving you feeling cold and alone, nothing about it is comforting or remorseful, it is aggressively evil and freezing from the start to the end.
